Arequipe (Dulce de Leche from Colombia)

Also known as dulce de leche, this dessert is divine. It’s thick and creamy and has a wonderful caramel flavor. Vendors on the streets of Colombia sell it along with a type of wafer known as obleas, which basically looks like an unrolled waffle cone. You smear the arequipe on the obleas and eat open faced or put two obleas together like an arequipe sandwich. You can also dip fruit and cookies into arequipe, or warm it up and drizzle it over ice cream, bananas foster, or hot apple crisp. The grocery stores in Colombia sell it in tubs of various sizes, including single servings which my students would bring in their lunches.

This is one of those dishes that you have to watch carefully while it’s cooking. It can go from almost done to burned in a nanosecond, so don’t be tempted to wander off. You don’t need to hover, just keep an eye on it. This will take a little over two hours to make, so plan your day accordingly. It’s a fun weekend project, though. And for people like me who have no Colombian grocery nearby, this is the only way to get arequipe without paying exorbitant shipping prices.

Equipment

Ingredients

Preparation

1. Dissolve the baking soda and cornstarch in 1/4 cup (~60 mil) of milk, then combine all of the milk and sugar in the pot.

2. Cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, and then bring it to a slow boil. Watch it closely. The color will gradually change from milky white to golden brown and the consistency will thicken. Continue cooking until the mixture coats the spoon and begins to set up as it cools on the spoon, about 2 hours. Finished temperature should be 220° F/104° C. It will look runny in the pot, but will thicken nicely as it comes to room temperature.

3. Pour into a bowl. Don’t scrape the pot or you’ll have crunchy bits in the arequipe. Allow to cool, and then serve. Store in the refrigerator.

Notes

The original recipe calls for 8 botellas de leche y 5 libras de azucar (8 bottles of milk and 5 pounds of sugar). That’s a lot of arequipe! So I reduced the recipe substantially to get an amount that would be more manageable. Even so, this recipe makes enough for a party, about 24 ounces, so consider cutting in half for a smaller amount (adjust cooking time accordingly).

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I was so excited when I found this recipe on your site. My mom used to make us arequipe when I was young by boiling a can of sweet condensed milk. I have always wanted to make it from scratch and it was even better than i remember!

Thanks for the recipe! I’m wondering if you know how to make the white cream used in between obleas? I recently was in Cali and there they do a layer of arequipe and a layer of white cream (crema de leche is what I was told there). What would that equate to in the States?

Hi Andrea, i really enjoyed your recipe because i am Colombian and i miss tasting my Colombian food. Even though i would like for you to post a recipe for torta con arequipe but its still good. I hope i hear from you soon! THANKS 🙂

My son is participating in a Cultural Fair at his school. We are looking for a few traditional recipes/foods that are native to Columbia. We are going to make Arequipe and a quick bread with corn with our friend from Columbia. We are looking for something that he can share as small samples- do you have any other suggestions? By the way-he is six but cooks with me quite a bit. Any help would be great!

Hello Andrea: I left Colombia in 1950 and still remember and love obleas with arequipe but I have no way of tasting them again so far away. Do you know where I can buy an oblea-maker machine? It would make my day and year if I can buy one. Thank you. Alicia

I just found your blog looking for an arequipe recipe and to my surprise i found one of my blog friends, Erica from My Colombian Recipes. I think your blog is beautiful and would like to subscribe to it.

Hi Bessie. Sorry, my Spanish is not as good as it used to be. 🙂 Was there any grainy sugar crystals around the top of the pan when you finished cooking? If so, those might have been scraped into the arequipe when you transferred it to a container. Or perhaps was the arequipe exposed to air for a long time after it cooked? That can also cause graininess.

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[…] weight gain. Yucca, yucca, yucca. A lot of meat. And those Colombians, they have the sweet tooth. Arequipe & figs. Sweet fried plantains. Yucca. Good thing I ingested some helpful bacteria or some such […]